Authors Notes: Satella Fluff chapter inbound hope you enjoy

The Minerva incident really had Subaru thinking of the dangers this world could pose to him, and what it already has. He wasn't sure if he still had Return by Death, and that could cause a lot of problems. He hated dying, as he just wanted it to end and live in peace, but every single time it just leads to him dying the most brutal deaths over and over.

Now being in this new era of the world that could possibly have more monsters like the great hare or white whale, Subaru was terrified of all the potential futures that awaited him. Would he face these horrors again? Would he even have Return by Death to let him go back? Would he fail just like he failed all his friends before?

As Subaru was in a spiral of his dark thoughts, a little poke on his cheek brought him back to reality.

"Hey, Subaru you okay? You spaced out." A cute smile was what he was greeted by upon his return from the mental hellscape that was self-doubt. It belonging to Satella which just made it all the more cute to him, but the sudden shock made it hard for him to register his surroundings.

"O-Oh Satella... yeah sorry about that." Subaru muttered, rubbing the back of his head, Subaru sheepishly looked away from the girl trying to hide his fatigued state. Of course it didn't hide much of anything, which caused her small smile to morph into a disappointed frown.

With a look of concern now gracing her face, her face only seemed more endearing to Subaru, not that it wasn't already. He just wished that concern wasn't directed towards him.

"I think you should get some rest. You look exhausted." Now pushing herself ever so slightly into him, that original frown was now starting to evolve into a more concerned pout. Satella didn't particularly like how Subaru hid even the slightest of issues, but that lapse in trust was on both ends. Seeing as she hid her problems as well, all she could do for now was try and fix up Subaru's current predicament.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Satella." She usually was right about this sort of thing. Apparently she was quite well educated in the art of sleeping if nothing else.

I could actually use a bath right about now. Subaru thought.

Acting on his thoughts, and more importantly the need for basic hygiene, Subaru turned towards the beautiful girl. "Hey Satella, do you have a bath in your house? I think it's a good way for me to clean up a bit." he asked with a small smile adorning his tired face.

Matching his turn towards her near perfectly, Satella looked straight at Subaru with the pout on her face now growing into a clear smile. "Oh yeah it's in the room to the right, follow me." She chirped happily.

Taking his hand, Satella led him to the bath, silently humming a tune to herself that wasn't even decipherable by the greatest of codebreakers.

Her head swung back and forth along with the tune she hummed, a happy smile on her face as she gripped his hand in her own without a care in the world.

Once inside, Subaru noticed the bath seemed a lot like Roswaal's, except much smaller and there were no creepy clowns this time. This brought great relief to the boy, as he didn't need nor want to ever hear that horrible accent again.

"Wow, I can get used to this." Beginning to take off his shirt, Subaru noticed a certain someone was still standing in the bathroom with him.

His cheeks slowly turned a crimson red as he stared blankly at her.

His mind completely blank, Subaru just asked, "Uhhh Satella-tan do you mind?"

"O-Oh yes, you're right. I shall also get ready" Satella said quickly as her cheeks began to heat up at being caught staring at him.

"Huh what do you mean also get read- AHHHHHHH"

Subaru shrieked as he saw Satella with her shirt off and immediately turned away from her.

"S-SS -SATELLA WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" A blushing Subaru yelled as he covered his eyes desperately.

Satella looked at him with a confused expression while simultaneously giving him the most flat tone she possibly could "What did I do? I'm just getting ready for the bath." she said simply, clearly not understanding the implications of such an action.

Her paused frame moved to continue undressing as she waited for a response.

Subaru couldn't believe the obliviousness of his foster home provider. Either that or he was finally getting one of the anime tropes he had so naively wished for. "Satella, why are you getting ready? I'm the one taking the bath right now." he muttered nervously.

Still keeping up a sense of normalcy, Satella simply said, "Yeah so let me join you. A bath for two people isn't bad." her voice held a stern undertone as she continued to speak.

At this point it looked as if that trope was going to be followed in the exact form he had seen it before. Of course, Subaru was a gentleman above anything else, so he would have to explain the situation to the socially inept girl. "Satella, you do realize that it would be me and you in the same bath, right?" he said slowly, turning further away as he heard her move around.

"It's me and you getting clean together." Satella stated completely deadpan without even the slightest pause in her voice, Satella wasn't even beginning to question the legitimacy of this act.

Subaru was puzzled at the girl's lack of common sense when it came to the situation. Did she really not know what she said and the meaning behind it, or was she just this comfortable with him already?

"Satella we're supposed to take a bath separately" he told her disbelievingly, his voice flat albeit faltering slightly.

If that didn't get to her, Subaru was running out of ideas that could explain this mixup. He did have a few more in reserve, but if she wanted to do this with him then he wouldn't protest.

"Huh why? That would just waste time for both of us. If we do it together we both can get clean super fast." The girl's complete unawareness of social norms made Subaru facepalm. It was quite literally one of the worst possible times for this trope to happen. Barely knowing a girl that was now ready and willing to hop in the bathtub with you was bad enough, but of course this girl also had to be one that you couldn't sort your feelings out on.

Thankfully he had an idea.

"Satella, you do realize that this type of thing is for married people or like a couple, right?"

The final card he could put into play was this one. If she rejected it, Satella was more than just oblivious at this point, and if she didn't… well Subaru's imagination could fill in that part.

Satella, who of course fell into the first category, blinked a few times before blushing. She didn't realize that this was a married couples hobby.

"O-Oh. S-sorry Subaru, I didn't realize that me saying this made you so uncomfortable. I'm so sorry." She smiled whilst not even trying to cover up her naked body.

Picking up on this, Subaru decided to make another request to go alongside his first. "It's fine Satella. Now can you please put on a shirt? If I stare at your naked upper body I might die from happiness."

Satella, not understanding what he meant, put her shirt on as she didn't want him to die. She never had someone before and she wasn't going to lose them now.

After the whole "moment" Subaru took his bath and Satella returned from hers and both came to the couch to discuss.

"So, Subaru, it's pretty late. We should head to bed." The half elf woman suggested, a small smile of content on her face.

Staring at her, Subaru got a dumb flirty look on his face. "Sure, but give me 5 more minutes to stare at your pretty face."

"Dummy." Satella pouted, although she turned away to hide a near unnoticeable blush, she could feel that it would only become more noticeable the longer he stared at her.

Continuing Satella's train of thought, Subaru thought to prepare for bed. "I think I should head to bed. You got any pillows so I can sleep on the couch?" he asked her, his relaxed demeanour calming the nerves of the poor girl sat next to him.

Satella looked at him confused once again. He truly was a handful, wasn't he? "Why do you need Pillows for the couch?" she asked, head tilting to one side in a cute reflection of her mindset.

"Well I'm sleeping on the couch Satella, why else?" This was an answer that was once again about to be undercut by a cute but rather unaware response.

"Huh? Why are you sleeping on the couch? Just come sleep with me on my bed." she suggested simply, not at all bothered by the idea of sleeping next to Subaru.

In fact, she was rather happy at the thought.

Once again Subaru blushed at the girl's lack of common sense when it came to things regarding social situations. He would have to start teaching her social norms, because at this rate she was going to accidentally get involved with some very unkind people because of it.

"Satella, again it's what a married couple does. I'm a man, I can't just sleep in your bed. We literally just met."

"But I trust you. We're friends….. Right?" Her face was a mix of a contorted sadness and a bit of squashed hope. It most definitely did not belong on her face.

Seeing her sad expression, Subaru went to hug the lonely beauty. It would have been improper to just stand there and watch her be depressed.

"Yes Satella-tan we're friends. You helped me a bunch by taking me to your home to stay before I head to the kingdom of lugunica." he soothed lightly, rubbing her back gently.

Satella, happy that she was embraced by Subaru couldn't help but think that she would be lonely again after he left but she thought nothing of it as she still had some time to spend with him and she was going to make the most of it.

"Well I think i'm done for today. See you tomorrow Satella-tan." Smiling at her one last time, Subaru let her out of his embrace and gently patted her shoulder.

"Good night."

Looking at him, Satella couldn't wonder what had made Subaru wear such a content smile on his face. She didn't care why though, as long as he was happy. "Oh yes, good night Subaru"

Time Skip: One month and 3 days later...

Subaru had spent about a month at Satella's house, and it was a pleasant experience to say the least. He got to know lots about her and her life in this forest, they also spent time together as they would go for walks through the forest and even sometimes visit the flower field. On occasions, they would spend hours talking with each other while they cooked and cleaned around the house. Almost like a married couple living together. It was a fantastic time for the duo, but all good things must come to an end.

The carriage that would pick Subaru up was arriving soon and Satella couldn't be sadder. She really got to enjoy her time with Subaru. His childish antics, his kindness and generosity, Satella became so fond of him that simply thinking about him made her face turn red. Her thoughts of reminiscence were interrupted as she heard the carriages come near the area they were in and came to force their final goodbyes.

"Well Satella-tan it was nice to spend time with you, and I can't thank you enough for letting me into your home" he said cheerfully, giving her a bright smile.

Satella didn't respond.

"I am really glad I met you. You are a very kind and beautiful person if I say so myself" he flirted, trying to remove the suffocating and depressing atmosphere.

Satella didn't respond, but tears were welling in her eyes as the carriages were getting closer to them.

Her breathing became ragged as her vision blurred, some tears falling quickly down her cheeks as the emotions within her threatened to break free.

"I guess this is goodbye Satella-tan I hope we can meet again somet-errk!"

Satella hugged him with so much force that he could swear she just broke his back.

"Satella ahh could you loosen up a bit I get you wanted a hug but you don't gotta kill a man" Subaru laughed, trying to free himself from her grip.

"Don't go." Satella whispered desperately, bringing her face into his shoulder, covering it in her tears and snot.

"What was that Satella?" Subaru leaned in closer to hear her.

"Please don't go. I don't want you to leave." She said in a low tone as the tears continued to fall. The thought of once again being alone terrifying her.

"Satella you gotta speak louder" he instructed, leaning so close that his cheek touched her hair

"Don't go, PLEASE!" She cried loud and clear for Subaru to hear.

She began crying proper, letting sobs break free from her throat, and repeating the phrase "don't go."

"Uhh Satella please calm down I'm right here."

"Please don't leave me behind. I don't want you to go" Satella sobbed as tears were filling her eyes and wetting Subaru's tracksuit.

Subaru looked down at her. During their short time together, he never really thought Satella would do this. He just thought she was pitying him letting him stay in her home, but now she was crying on his clothes begging him to not go, he didn't know what to say, as he never really was the best with girls, let alone ones that were sobbing like crazy on his shirt, but he knew one thing.

Tears also began to fill his eyes as he listened to her heartfelt words and heartbreaking sobs.

He couldn't leave her behind. He couldn't fail yet another soul.

"It's okay Satella I'm here" he said soothing the girl as he rubbed her hair with his hands trying to calm her down.

"I won't leave you."

His voice was soft, and yet firm.

"Y-You will leave me. They always leave me behind" She said as more tears leaked out her lavender eyes.

"I won't leave you, I promise." He said as he caressed her hands and gave a light peck on her head causing her to blush.

"I'm being selfish aren't I Subaru? I'm preventing you from going to the capital all because of my tantrum of not wanting you to leave i'm-i'm so sorry Subaru" she muttered, her face muffled by his shoulder.

"Hey, forget that. I couldn't possibly leave this pretty lady by herself and let her cry alone."

As they both stood there hugging each other Subaru was in deep thought. He of course didn't wanna leave this girl behind but he needed to go to the kingdom so what should he do…..

"WAIT that's it!" Subaru yelled out loud startling Satella.

"What is it Subaru?" As she looked at him confused.

"Come to the capital with me, you and me can become travel buddies" he said with renewed energy and excitement.

She looked at him, opening her mouth and closing it as she processed what he said.

"You want me to come with you to the capital?" she questioned lightly, leaning away from him but keeping her arms tightly locked around him, her shining eyes staring into his own.

She noticed some light tear stains on his cheeks and smiled weakly.

"Yes, come with me, that way I wont leave you and I can go on my trip"

Immediately after He was hit by a massive bear hug and as Satella yelled out her innermost thoughts and feelings.

"YES! YES! I would love that" she shrieked out, crying tears of joy as she clung to the boy.

As the carriages approached, Subaru got an excited Satella off of him and held her hand tightly, smiling down at her.

"Do you need anything from your home?" he asked softly, staring down at them

"Nope, I brought some money. I don't need anything else for now." she murmured softly, squeezing his hand lightly with red cheeks.

"Great! Then let's go Satella-tan!" He exclaimed as both of them got into the carriage.

This was a good idea for Subaru. He could keep an eye out on Satella to make sure she is shielded from harm. Natsuki Subaru completed his first goal; to meet Satella and somehow find a way to keep tabs on her. He didn't know what future lies ahead but he was somewhat ready for it because he had

STRENGTH.

Authors note:Thanks for reading the chapter art is done by one of my discord boys, as always if you enjoyed this Satella fluff chapter feel free to review as always thanks for reading